


please leave a message after the beep

by jessicagoddamnjones



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt, Gen, Heavy Angst, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Sorry Not Sorry, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-28 15:20:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17789852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessicagoddamnjones/pseuds/jessicagoddamnjones
Summary: a brief look into Tony Stark’s voicemails.





	please leave a message after the beep

**You have [four] new messages. Press one to play all. Press two to clear inbox. Press three for more options.**

**Voicemail from: Ms. Potts**

_”Hey, Tony. Listen, just to get straight to the point, I know that it hurts, but . . . God, I don’t even know what to say. You have to come back home. This—the world needs you._ I  _need you. Peter . . . we all loved him. We’re all gonna miss him. Please, Tony, I love you too much to let you destroy yourself ._

 _Don’t let this consume you—it’s not the end of the world. It will pass. Painfully, yeah, but it_ will _pass._

_I love you. I miss you. We all miss you. Rhodey is . . . well, he’s scared. He would never admit it, but he’s scared. And sad. He’s losing his head worrying about you need to come home. Don’t do anything stupid. At least . . . at least call me back. Text, email, anything. Just let me know you’re okay._

_Anyways. I have to go. I love you.”_

 

**Voicemail from: Honeybear**

_“Tony, this is getting ridiculous. I know you’re in pain. We all are—we all knew him, and we all loved him, and now we all miss him. You can’t just leave, though, okay? You can’t just take off like that. You’re making us worry. You’re making_ me _worry. You’re making your wife worry._

_This isn’t MIT. You can’t disappear without any repercussions. Pepper isn’t sleeping. She needs you, Tony. She loved him just as much as you did._

_It—it—it’s not like you have a monopoly on the kid! He belonged to all of us! We’re all hurting the same way, Tony, you don’t get to fuck off in some fancy hotel somewhere and say that your pain is different somehow. That’s not fair._

_..._

_I’m sorry. God, I’m—I’m sorry. I don’t even know what I’m saying. I—that wasn’t fair to you. You . . . were the closest with him out of all of us. You’ve got every right to do this. . . ._

_Just please come home. The team is worried. At least let us know you’re okay, and not dead in a ditch somewhere. I love you. Everything’s gonna be okay. Call me back.”_

 

**Voicemail from: Peter’s Suspiciously Attractive Aunt (May)**

_”You wanna know what I can’t stop thinking about? You were the last person he talked to. He—he didn’t even_ try _to call me. I checked the suit’s records. He called you when he . . . when he was. . . ._

_. . ._

_He didn’t try to call me. Why? Why did he call_ you?

_Why didn’t he try harder?_

_Did he_ want _to die? Is that it, Tony? He didn’t call me, or the police, or any other members of the team, or anyone who might be able to help. He called you. And it didn’t even go through! I mean—he_ called _you and you_ didn’t answer! 

_I don’t understand. I thought Peter was happy. Do you . . . do you think it was intentional? Do you think he maybe didn’t want to try harder, for some reason?_

_It’s just that I can’t stop_ thinking _about it. Why he called you and not me. Call me crazy, but you’d think that raising a kid as your own for most of his life would make him care about you. Enough, at least, to try and contact you before he fucking_ died _._

_Anyways. I know you’re off the grid right now, or something. Apparently you aren’t answering anyone’s messages. Pepper and Rhodey called me to see if I could get through to you. So, call me back, I guess. Or maybe one of the people who actually care about where you are._

_Oh, yeah. Almost forgot. The funeral is this Friday. You’re welcome to come. Should be a pretty small thing. . . . Don’t think anyone would recognize you if you showed up._

_Yeah. That’s it. Catch you later, ‘kay, Stark?”_

 

**Voicemail from: Spider-Baby**

_”. . . Hey, Mr. Stark. How’s it going?_

_I know it’s pretty late—or early, depending on how you look at it—but I guess I just wanted to hear your voice._

_Um . . . In case you’re wondering how_ my _night’s going: not well. Heh._

_Hey, do you remember the first time you took me out to dinner? After I took out that drug ring? You said you wanted to congratulate me, but I think you were just really hungry. Anyways. You took me like, almost all the way out of Queens, to this tiny little family run diner, because nobody there recognized you, and the ones who did were too laid-back to care. That was cool. I was really nervous, you know? I think you could tell—who couldn’t, right? I could barely speak properly, Jesus—because you looked at me kinda funny and  told me about the time you got really drunk and threw up in your dad’s pillowcase._

_That was nice of you. It was a really funny story._

_And then, do you remember how you paid for everything, and I totally freaked out and started acting really weird? I couldn’t make eye contact. But, er, you bought me a burger. Told me I had done a really good job. I think about it a lot._

_Anyways. I—I dunno why I’m calling you. I don’t think you’d remember this. You are a busy, busy bee, Mr. Stark. Always got something going on. I’m, uh, pretty set in my decisions. Nothing you can do to change what’s set in stone._

_Um. . . . This is not how I expected this voicemail to go. Go figure._

_I just—I just wanted you to know. How much that meant to me, I mean. It really—it really encouraged me, whenever I was feeling like everything I was doing was pointless, or that I could never make a difference, or whatever. You know. Typical teenage angst._

_Another time, you bought me a—well, you gave it to me, really, because you kind of invented it and everything—but you gave me a StarkPhone, after you saw how cracked my old phone was. And like, I know that’s probably not a big deal for you, but it meant so much for me. I . . . Sorry, my throat’s a bit sore. S’cuse me. It just meant a lot to me. You—you handed it over so_ easily _. Like it was nothing. But, see, on Monday there I was, walking around school, this fucking scholarship kid with hand-me-down sweaters and dirty shoes, holding a thousand dollar phone. And I guess I’ve never been able to get over that. How such a small thing for you could be so big for me._

_. . ._

_You were my childhood hero. I don’t know if I ever told you that, I mean, you definitely_ suspected _or something, but you were. Are—still. Present tense. My hero._

_Don’t tell the others, but you’re my favorite Avenger, okay?_

_I definitely never told you this—never told anyone—but when I first realized I had my . . . abilities . . . I thought of you. I was panicking, thinking that someone would find out about me and turn me in and then the government would experiment on me or whatever, and I remember thinking_ ‘what would Tony Stark do?’

_So I put on the onsie and I swung around Queens like a loser. I just figured that if I had the tools, why shouldn’t I use them for greatness? Because that’s where it all began, for me. Wanting greatness. What a dweeb._

_. . ._

_You blame yourself for a lot of things. I know people tell you this like, all the time, but you really do. And I—I just wanted you to know that this isn’t your fault. Because I know you. And I know that you’ll blame yourself for this._

_Also, um, you can just consider this voicemail my last official statement to the world. To my Aunt, I leave my terrible anxiety and photo albums. To my best friend Ned, I leave all of my LEGO sets and the entire Star Wars series I have in my closet. I’m actually more of a Star Trek fan, but don’t tell him._

_And to you, Mr. Stark? I leave . . . Shit. My last words? Are those worth anything?_

_I . . . I don’t know how much time I have left._

_Please, please, please don’t blame yourself. It’s not your fault. It’s not anyone’s fault. Not your’s or Aunt May’s or the team’s, not anyone’s but my own._

_I’m sorry._

_I’m gonna miss you. Remember that. You’re worth missing. I’m going to miss all of you. May and Ned and the team and my teachers and my downstairs neighbors and the guy who I buy sandwiches from . . . You get the gist. You are some top-notch people, my dude._

_You can play this voicemail for them, if you’d like. Hell, play it at my funeral. Or you can just keep it to yourself. It’s your choice. My gift to you. Whatever you decide._

_In all seriousness, though, can you make sure my funeral isn’t all sad and dark and mopey? Maybe hire a comedian. John Mulaney, wouldn’t that be funny? I doubt he makes house calls, though._

_If you don’t play some Disney songs at my funeral, then I am going to be a_ very _disgruntled ghost, Mr. Stark._

_Please. . . . Um. This might be really morbid, but could you tell Aunt May that I don’t want a fancy gravestone? I actually . . . I’ve thought about dying a lot. Who hasn’t? But . . . I don’t want to make this a big deal. I kinda like the idea of just slipping out of this world as quietly as I came in. Just passing through, don’t mind me, you know?_

_Do you think anybody will connect the dots? How Spider-Man died right when I did? God, won’t_ that _be a shocker. People at school are going to lose their shit._

 _Alright, confession time. I’m scared. I’m really, really scared. I don’t wanna die. I don’t—this was never in the cards. This wasn’t part of the plan, but . . ._ c’est la vie _, I guess._

_Please tell everyone I love them. I never realized how much I loved stuff until I realized that I’d never see it again. I love you, too, you know. You would never admit it, but I know you love me. May told me so. As did Pepper. And Rhodey. And, like, everyone on the team. You’re like a dad to me, but don’t tell anyone else, because I know you don’t do well with emotions, so that’ll just stay between us two._

_God, sorry, is this too long? I never did learn how to shut up. This must be very painful for you. I don’t want to take up too much of your time._

_Um. This is it, then._

_Mr. Stark, it has been an absolute honor to be your fake intern. It has been . . . the biggest pleasure of my life. And I want to thank you. Um, I wanted to thank you for making these last few years some of the best of my life. My very short life._

_Tell May I love her, please. And Ned that there wasn’t anything he could do—he feels guilty every time I get hurt, you two would get along. And just . . . just remember, please, that this isn’t your fault._

_This is my fault. Only my fault._

_I don’t know what to say. I wish I had written this down first._

_I love you._

_I had no other choice._

_Please don’t be sad.”_

 

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**Voicemail from: Spider-Baby.**

_“. . . Hey, Mr. Stark. How’s it going?”_

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> should I make this into a series?
> 
> also, validate me. comment or something; place a curse on my firstborn, create a voodoo doll of me using my fingernail clippings, just get creative xx


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